The soldier cannot be “handed over,” since the first crime—desertion—,which he committed before the murder, is under Russian law. CIS Institute Director, Russian politician Konstantin Zatulin has stated the aforementioned in response to a query on whether Russian soldier Valery Permyakov, who is the accused in the murder of seven people in Armenia’s Gyumri city, will be handed over to the local Armenian justice system.

“But the trial will be held in Armenia, in the area of our [Russian] military base [in Gyumri]. It will be open for the Armenian media and the general public.

“There is no desire to defend the criminal,” Zatulin stated, Aif news agency reported. “But I have no doubt that the sentence against Permyakov will be most severe.”

As reported earlier, six members of the Avetisyan family—including a two-year-old girl—were shot dead, and a six-month-old baby was wounded in their house in Gyumri on January 12; and the baby boy died in hospital on January 19.

Valery Permyakov, a serviceman of the 102nd Russian Military Base in the city, stands accused in this crime. Permyakov was apprehended by the Russian border guards near the Armenian-Turkish border on the same night, he was arrested on January 14, and he is held in custody at the Russian military base.

The soldier is charged under Russian law, with “the murder of more than two people” and “desertion with a service weapon.” And on January 21, the Investigative Committee of Armenia also filed a criminal charge against Permyakov, and with “premeditated murder of two or more persons.” The Russian soldier has accepted the charges.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia had stated that Valery Permyakov will face justice under Russian law, and this information had provoked a wave of protests in Armenia, especially in Gyumri and capital city Yerevan, and with a demand that Permyakov be handed over to the Armenian law enforcement.